Is a rail line connecting Salt Lake City to Boise and Las Vegas still possible? Here’s what Gov. Cox says.

Utahns hoping to be future passengers on a train connecting Salt Lake City to Boise and Las Vegas were disappointed last week when the the Federal Railroad Administration announced it wouldn’t fund an exploration of the project.

But Gov. Spencer Cox told the audience of an online town hall Tuesday that he’s “optimistic” that such a rail line traversing the Beehive State could still be possible.

When one viewer asked whether FrontRunner — a Utah Transit Authority commuter train that extends along the Wasatch Front — might ever extend to St. George in the southwestern corner of the state, Cox replied, “I would love nothing more than for a train from Salt Lake to St. George. I’m a huge believer in high-speed rail.”

The Utah Department of Transportation applied for a $500,000 grant to explore the Boise-to-Las Vegas rail service. In its proposal, it outlined “potential service,” by bus or rail, to St. George.

The application was submitted for funding set aside in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for intercity passenger rail projects.

According to a news release from the Federal Railroad Administration, the agency ultimately decided as part of its Corridor Identification and Development Program that it would initially give grants toward 69 potential projects in 44 states.

Advocates of expanding rail service in Utah pointed to a lack of local enthusiasm — including among lawmakers, UDOT and the state’s federal delegation — as a potential reason the Beehive State’s application wasn’t selected.

“This project wasn’t one that they decided to pick, but yet we’re still interested in it,” Cox said. “And so we’re going to still move forward in looking at it, evaluating it and hoping there are some opportunities to do that.”

The U.S. has been slow to adopt high-speed rail, but the governor said the service could have a future in the Beehive State.

“We believe we can do this right here in the state of Utah,” he said. “So our transportation officials are looking into this.”